As president and chief executive of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Hubert Joly heads one of those rare business phenomena - a Franco-American company.

It comes as no surprise to discover that his previous employer, Vivendi Universal, suffered, or enjoyed, a similarly split personality. But he is a Frenchman by birth with US business acumen in his veins. McKinsey had him for 12 years, and put him in the US for seven of them.